Traveling Home

Wednesday, November 20, 2019

The last day...the cruise is over. Jon and Michelle were driving back to Georgia and wanted to get on the road as quick as possible. Our flight wasn't leaving until 3:30 pm so we had requested the latest possible time to disembark. Sleeping late would have been nice, but we also wanted to have one last breakfast with J & M so had set an alarm.

But...no alarm was needed. The strong vibration of the ship as it docked at Port Everglades was more than enough to jostle me awake. I dressed in the dark and slipped out onto the promenade deck in the predawn light. I was anxious to get checked in for our flight since I wasn't able to before we left Half Moon Cay the previous afternoon.

As I was concentrating on the Delta app on my phone, Michelle snuck up behind me and scared me to death!! She had come out on deck to see the sunrise, something she had wanted to do all during the cruise and had never managed to do.

By the time I checked in for our flight, the only seats remaining were middle seats in the back of the plane...no where near each other. That is the price you pay for booking basic economy tickets.

The morning was cool (in the upper 50's) and I was barefoot, but stayed out with Michelle looking at all of the cruise ships in port. Six I believe. A Royal Caribbean ship came sailing into the channel just as the sun began to rise.

Caribbean Princess

The four of us met for breakfast at the buffet. I finally got around to trying a crepe and was sorry I had waited until the last day. Yum. When the cruise director announced that the ship had been cleared around 7:30, we said our goodbyes and J & M began their journey home.

Bob and I packed the last few things in our carry-on bags and then walked around the outside deck watching all of the activity around the port. Our color group was called about 8:45, earlier than what had been estimated.

Once in the terminal, our luggage was easy to find. I was happy to see that my damaged bag was still intact. When we got outside, we called a Lyft and our driver arrived in about 5 minutes. She had a smaller car and the trunk was full of her "stuff" that had to all be moved and rearranged in order to fit our luggage. (Wouldn't you think an Uber or Lyft driver picking up passengers at the port would anticipate the need to have room for luggage?)

The driver dropped us off at the Delta gates at FLL and when we entered, the queues were full and the line extended through much of the terminal. It was too early for us to check our bags so we found a place to sit and wait. A Canadian couple who had just gotten off the Caribbean Princess was sitting next to us and we had a nice chat. Bob read his book and I caught up on emails and Facebook. (Yay for fast and strong cell service!)

The lines to check in were L-O-N-G!!!

When we were finally able to check our bags at 11:30, the lines were totally gone and we walked directly up to the desk. My bag was a pound over the limit and we were ready to shuffle things around, but the agent said it was fine. There was no charge for our checked bags since we have a Delta Skymiles credit card.

When we got to our gate, the place was packed. This part of the airport was undergoing renovations and there was barely anyplace to sit and very few places to get something to eat. It is always such a rude awakening to leave the multitude of free food options on the ship and then have to pay for overpriced, mediocre food at the airport. We opted for personal-sized pizzas for about $10 each. They weren't too bad, but smaller than the ones we could order for free on the ship.

So hard to eat airport food right after a cruise!

I checked with the gate agent on the outside chance they might need volunteers to be bumped, but was informed that our flight was not quite full. I mentioned that I was very concerned about missing the next leg of our flight since we had such a short layover at JFK in New York. (Not the most direct route from Florida to Minnesota, but again...it is what you get with the cheap seats.)

A direct flight to Minneapolis was actually boarding at the next gate and she said she would have moved us to that flight but it was overbooked already. Instead she offered to change our seats and moved us to the front row of the economy section so we could get off the plane quicker. And the seats were even together!! Thank you, Delta!

The plane took off a few minutes early. By the time I watched the movie "Holiday in the Wild" that I had downloaded onto my iPad from Netflix, the flight was over.

We arrived at Terminal 1 at JFK and our next flight was leaving from Terminal 4. We hit the ground running. We climbed on a Delta shuttle just as it was getting ready to leave and were driven to Terminal 4. But...we were dropped off a long way from our gate. We had the option to wait another 8 minutes for the next shuttle to take us closer to our gate or walk for 10 minutes. We walked...and fast. Boarding was just beginning which gave us time to quickly use the rest room, but nothing else.

I had checked the Delta app off and on while we had waited in Ft. Lauderdale and managed to finally get two seats together for this flight to Minneapolis. I watched another cute movie..."Where'd You Go, Bernadette?" and before I knew it, we were landing at MSP at 9:40 pm...a few minutes ahead of schedule.

The shuttle to the Doubletree Hotel (where our car was parked) leaves the airport at the top of each hour. I figured it was hopeless to try and get on the 10 pm shuttle, but with luck, we got our luggage (and mine was still intact!) and RAN to the ground transportation area. We walked out the door just as the shuttle driver was starting to pull away. We got his attention and he pulled back in and loaded up our luggage.

It had been a long and somewhat stressful travel day, but in the end everything went smoothly and so much better than I had anticipated. The shuttle driver dropped us off right at our car and we drove to our son's house to spend the night...about 45 minutes from the airport. After a quick visit with the grandkids the next morning, we were on the road and home by noon.

Looking back...

This cruise was booked as a cheap replacement for the 28-day South Pacific cruise in February 2020 that we cancelled.  My only goal was to have a warm get away before the long, cold winter arrived in Minnesota. In retrospect, I got what I wanted, but so much more. Having our friends, Jon & Michelle join us, turned the two weeks into such a fun time. And just like the name of this blog...the souvenirs we returned with are the best possible kind...souvenir memories!

Half Moon Cay #2

Tuesday, November 19, 2019

Be sure and watch our video from Half Moon Cay:  Half Moon Cay - A Day in Paradise!

Today was our "bonus day". By booking two back-to-back cruises we got to stop at Half Moon Cay (Holland America's private island) TWICE! One of the most beautiful beaches ever and a no-cost, no-plan port. But I'm getting ahead of myself...

When we woke up and flipped on the TV, there was no sign of land on the webcam channel. Our time in port was way too short to begin with (last tender leaves the island at 2:00 pm) so we wanted to be off the ship ASAP.

No land in sight when we got up.
(Bob put a magnetic hook on the ceiling to hang his water shoes to dry! 😄)

We were at breakfast by 7:15 am, but getting there was frustrating. The rear bank of elevators had been having issues all week and it was down to only one of the four working that morning. As we were eating, there was an announcement that the Veendam would be late getting to HMC due to the ship leaving St. Thomas late the previous night (not by much) and the rough seas overnight (which I did feel!) Tendering was scheduled to start around 8:30 am.

I've mentioned what a great deal we got when booking this cruise and besides the great price, we also had quite a bit of onboard credit. This was a result of a promotion when we booked, credit from using a "Future Cruise Deposit" that we had previously purchased, and the credit from owning stock in the Carnival Corporation (Holland America's parent company.) Oh...and the booking promotion had also included free gratuities. That meant we had several hundred dollars to spend on the cruise.

Using the credits to pay for the shore excursions we booked through the ship worked perfectly...until Bob's dive got cancelled in Grand Turk. With the refund, we now had extra credit left over. It was non-refundable credit which meant it was either "use it or lose it." We are not drinkers and there was nothing of interest in the gift shops.

When waiting for the evening show to start a couple of nights ago, Jon had logged into the Navigator app and saw there were jet ski tours at Half Moon Cay. He had been pushing Bob to do go jet skiing at each port and now it seemed a great way to use up that extra credit. The tour was offered several times but only the noon excursion had any space left...in fact, only two spots were available. Within a minute, those spots were gone and Bob and Jon were booked.

When tendering began, we (meaning the four of us) had a disagreement over whether we needed to get tender tickets. Usually booking a HAL tour means you don't have to deal with tender tickets, but in this case, the guy's jet ski excursion wasn't scheduled until noon. AND...Michelle and I didn't have tickets for any tour.

Michelle, Bob and I went up to the Ocean Bar at 8:30 to play it safe and get tickets, but the line was EXTREMELY long. Bob asked a crew member and was told his excursion ticket would be all he needed to get on the tender, but what about Michelle and I? We weren't sure. Jon was stubborn and refused to even ask about the tickets and told Michelle he would meet her down on Deck 3 where the tenders were boarding.

Michelle and I decided we would take a chance without a ticket and get on the tender with Bob and Jon. The three of us made it as far as Deck 4 and ran into a line that stretched all the way down the hallway. People were waiting to go down the stairs to the lower deck, but no sign of Jon. Once the line started moving, Bob and I had no trouble getting onto a tender with his excursion ticket. We left Michelle to hunt for Jon.

The captain overseeing the tendering process.

It was 9 am by the time we got to the island and then had the long walk to where we had found chairs in the shade the week before. By the time Jon and Michelle got there, we were in the water.

What a difference a week made. The day was sunny, but cooler than the previous week. Instead of a large stretch of beach in front of the rows of chairs, there were large waves lapping up under the chairs. We were in the row farthest from the water's edge and still had to move further away to avoid the waves. By noon the waves were even washing under our chairs.

Same chairs from the previous week.

No waves on our visit the previous week.

The Volendam and Veendam were sharing the beach at Half Moon Cay for the day. A group of the singers and dancers from both ships sat in the chairs in front of us. In visiting with them they said they had all gone through rehearsals in New York together and were friends.

Passing by the Volendam as we tendered to shore.

Bob with both HAL ships in background...Veendam (left) and Volendam (right)

The BBQ serving began at 11:30 and we were there just as it started so Bob and Jon would have time to eat before their tour. I had a couple of salads along with a fish taco and a hot dog. I was surprised at how good the hot dog tasted. I think it was the onions and sweet relish, but most anything would be delicious in that setting!

The guys ate quickly and left, but Michelle and I stayed long enough to get an ice cream cone for dessert. The "dessert guy" from the Veendam was scooping the ice cream and got excited when he saw us and said "remember me?!" He was the same guy that had tipped over the whole cart of desserts and I suspected he might be a newer crew member. We had visited with him several times at lunch and also when we had been in the buffet playing cards before the late night snacks.

Michelle didn't get back into the water after lunch (she was cold) but I grabbed my noodle and went back in. It was so fun playing in the waves. Ever now and then a wave would crash over me, but I didn't care...I was savoring each minute because I knew the cruise was coming to an end.

It was after 1 pm before the guys came back from their tour and they reported that they had a great time. Our original itinerary had us staying at HMC until 4 pm, but Hanna had announced that instead, the last tender would leave the island at 2 pm. To make it even more confusing, the sign at the entrance to HMC stated that the last tender was at 2:30 pm. Once the guys returned, we reluctantly gathered up all of our stuff and made our way to the tender.

I was hoping to check in online for our flight the next day at 3:30 before we lost our cell signal, but by then the ship had sailed and my phone went back on airplane mode. I would have to wait and sign in first thing in the morning when we reached Ft. Lauderdale.

I showered when we got back and then Bob and I worked on packing. Or I should say I "tried" to pack. Two people trying to pack at the same time in a small room just doesn't work. I let Bob finish and when he headed to the pickleball court, it was my turn.

Bob said Assistant Cruise Director, Andrea, came by the pickleball court while they were playing and was surprised to see how many had shown up. She didn't stay, but provided some prizes and told Bob to organize a tournament which he did.

We enjoyed our last dinner in the dining room and said our good-byes to waiters Oka and Kadek. They were the best!

The entertainment in the theater was a variety show which meant the two comedians that we had already seen were going to share the stage for another show. After seeing four comedians in two weeks, we decided to skip the show. Jon brought his laptop and we went to the library where he could copy my photos from the week that I had backed up on my external hard drive. Oh...and of course we played a game of Wizards!

Jon had brought along the voyage log that had been left in his cabin. It contained a record of the distances and speeds the ship had traveled between each of the ports. He was laughing because the average speed to reach Half Moon Cay was listed at 91.1 knots. We were joking about being able to water ski behind the ship at that speed when we realized that Andrea (the assistant cruise director) was in the room and had overheard our conversation. She sheepishly confessed that it was her mistake.

There were still last minute things that needed to be packed so we said good night to Jon and Michelle at 9:30 pm. Once it was done, we put the two big bags in the hallway and went to bed. I crossed my fingers that my damaged luggage would survive just a little longer.

Sea Day #4

Monday, November 18, 2019

The clocks got moved back an hour last night returning us the time we lost a few nights ago. I had set an alarm on my iPhone before going to bed but woke up around 4 am and remembered that for some reason the phone had reset to Atlantic time. That meant the alarm I had set would go off one hour earlier than what I actually wanted. I turned off the alarm, but then kept waking up to check the time because I was afraid we would oversleep. (Darn inside room was so dark we never knew when it was morning!)

Normally I wouldn't care what time I woke up on a sea day, but we had made plans to meet Jon and Michelle at the main dining room at 8 am and I didn't want to be late. I shouldn't have worried, I was up at 6:45 am. Bob woke about 15 minutes later. I took advantage of the time before breakfast to back up my photos from the last few days.

The four of us were at the dining room when it opened at 8 am. We were seated immediately but then it took 45 minutes before we were served. There was nothing we needed...or wanted...to do right away and we just enjoyed visiting.

After breakfast Bob and Jon went to play pickleball and Michelle and I decided it would be a good time to start doing a little packing. I flipped on the TV to the webcam station while I was working and noticed it had begun to rain. And just as I expected...Bob walked in the door about 2 minutes later...his shirt covered in raindrops. They had only gotten one game in before the rain had started. He changed and left to go work out in the gym.

I was only able to pack so much, because there were still a couple of days left before the end of the cruise. Switching tasks, I returned to working on my photo back ups. I wanted to get all of the photos transferred to my external hard drive so Jon could copy them onto his laptop. We had been air dropping some of our photos back and forth between our phones, but this way he would have a copy of all of the photos and videos I had taken.

Michelle and I met at the Wajang Theater at 11 am. The session was titled "Lunch for a Rainy Day" and included presentations on making homemade tomato soup and grilled cheese. Megan, the Test Kitchen Host, had a table full of recipe cards and encouraged everyone to take all they wanted. She was trying to get rid of all of the copies since the recipes will only be available online in the future.

Bob was just leaving our cabin when I stopped by to drop off the recipes and then we met up with Jon and Michelle for lunch. We had once again received an invitation to the Mariner's luncheon, but chose to eat in the buffet instead. After our lengthy breakfast, going to a sit-down lunch would mean our day would be mostly spent in the dining room!

I was excited to see that there was a back stage tour listed on the activities on the Navigator app. Only a handful of people were in the theater when the four of us arrived after lunch and we quickly learned that there was no tour...but a bingo game instead. Not sure what caused the mix-up, but I was disappointed. I was looking forward to visiting with some of the singers and dancers that we had met on our Antarctica cruise.

The skies had cleared and Michelle and I spent a little time on the promenade deck. I will blame the fresh sea air, but after a short time we both got so sleepy that we went back to our respective cabins for a nap! And Bob? Yes...you guessed it. He went to play pickleball.

It was just a short nap and I had a hard time waking up, but I wanted to attend the "Ask the Captain" Q & A session in the theater. It is always interesting to hear about the business side of cruising and the captain was quite funny in his responses to the questions asked.

Cruise director, Hanna Delaney and Captain, Marek Zoll

When I returned to our cabin, water was pouring out of the ceiling in the hallway near our cabin. I don't mean dripping, I mean POURING. It sounded like a waterfall in the hallway! A crew member was poking around in the ceiling, but the water just kept coming. I assume it was a broken pipe, but can't say for sure.

I was showered and dressed by the time Bob got back from pickleball. It was gala night and he had to hustle to get ready in time. By the time we left to go to dinner the indoor waterfall had stopped. Several crew members and a couple of officers were working at getting the water sucked out of the soaked carpet.

The gala night menu was an exact repeat from the previous week. All of us ordered the surf and turf and shrimp cocktail.  Our waiter, Oka, was such a hard worker, but had a great sense of humor as well. When Jon and Michelle were a few minutes late getting to dinner, Oka joked that Jon must be fixing his hair (in reference to his goofy braids.)

Surf & Turf from Gala Night menu

Oka removing the lobster shell

Flourless Chocolate Lava Cake

Jon & Michelle with waiters, Kadek and Oka. 

The large, extended family sitting at the table next to us had been at Coki Beach with us the day before so I showed them a couple of the videos I had taken of the fish. (They had been the ones attracting the fish by feeding them!) Thanks to technology, I was able to air drop the videos onto the iPhone of the guy sitting closest to me.

The evening show in the theater was "Dance" with the ship performers showcasing many different forms of dances. The show was excellent and I marveled at the energy those guys and gals have!

Our evening card game was played in the Explorer Lounge. It wasn't the greatest place to play cards (the table was too low) but it was a good place to be when the chocolate surprise parade came through. I didn't need any more chocolate after ordering the flourless chocolate lava cake for dessert, but I did sample a couple of the goodies.

We were all wanting something to drink after the chocolate so we finished up the card game in the Lido buffet where we could get a cup of tea. It was almost time for the late night buffet when we finished, but we elected to pass on food in favor of sleep.

St. Thomas

Sunday, November 17, 2019

I could save myself the trouble of writing a blog post today and just copy and paste one from a previous visit to St. Thomas. After stopping at this island multiple times, we did exactly what we have done in the past...spend the day at Coki Beach. It's not that Coki Beach is the most beautiful or the most convenient, but it just works well when some of the group wants to scuba dive and the others don't.

Our day started by meeting Jon and Michelle for breakfast at 7:15 at the buffet. We didn't dawdle and were ready to go when the ship was cleared and the gangway was ready. I expected to travel to Coki Beach in one of the common open-air taxis, but instead we were assigned to a van taxi with a few people going the same direction. Some of the others were going kayaking and a few more were going to catch the ferry to St. John to spend the day snorkeling. Since we would be getting off last, we were told to sit in the back of the van which was not easy with our big beach bags and scuba gear.

Jon and Bob had a dive scheduled with Coki Dive Center at 9 am and we arrived a little after 8:30 am. Once the guys had checked in for their dives, Michelle and I walked down the stairway the leads to the beach.

At that time of the morning the beach was pretty deserted...except for a mother hen and her chicks scratching around the sand looking for something to eat. I had (jokingly) told Michelle that there would be a guy with dreadlocks and no teeth renting chairs and that pretty well describes the man we gave $10 to for a couple of well worn lounges.

Our private beach.

For a short time, it was just us and the chickens!

We pulled our chairs up under a tree for some shade and settled in. I got out my GoPro to get some video of the waves washing up on the beach and looked up and saw the most beautiful rainbow. A postcard view!

Here is a link to the video I made of the waves lapping up onto the beach. My Escape to Paradise video! Watching this will help me get through our long, cold Minnesota winter!

Michelle and I alternated between our lounge chairs, floating on our noodles and snorkeling. Later, when Jon watched the video I took, he had a hard time believing how many fish we had seen! Certainly more than they did during their dive! It was like swimming in an aquarium!

During the morning it began to sprinkle off and on and then it changed to a heavy, steady rain. Trying to put our bags and towels up under the tree to stay dry was futile, but we had everything of value sealed in ziplock bags so no harm was done. Eventually the clouds moved on and the sun returned.

During the rain, the water became this incredible shade of aqua!

By noon we were starting to wonder if the guys were coming back! There were some ladies walking down the beach selling jewelry, but we were more interested in the older lady who had a basket full of warm, freshly made empenadas. We bought the last two for $3/each and they were delicious!

It was around 1:15 when Bob and Jon got back, but we still had to wait until a separate truck returned with their gear. Another van taxi was waiting when we left the beach and it dropped us off at the shopping area next to the Havensight dock. I was anxious to get back on the ship because our bags full of wet towels and snorkel equipment weighed a ton. Michelle made a brief stop at the Pandora store and where she bought a charm, but otherwise no shopping for us.

We dropped off our stuff in the cabin and without showering, went directly to the buffet. By that time (around 2:30) there were just pre-made sandwiches at the buffet which didn't look too appetizing. The next best option was getting some nachos from the Dive In and sharing a little of the pizza that Jon ordered. We had good cell service so got to FaceTime our son and grandkids back in Minnesota while we ate.

The four of us went out on the promenade deck and enjoyed the beautiful view of St. Thomas. We decided that we wanted to watch as the Veendam sailed away from St. Thomas, so Bob ran up to the dining room to let them know we would not be coming to dinner at our usual time. (After such a late lunch no one wanted an early dinner anyway!) Technically our table was part of the "anytime dining" section and we wanted to make the table available to someone else.

The Volendam was docked right behind us and left first. Then it was our turn. About the same time, we saw the Celebrity Summit leaving from the other dock in St. Thomas, Crown Bay. Our early dinner time had kept us from seeing sunsets during the cruise, but we more than made up for it this evening.

The Volendam pulling away from the dock.

The Volendam sailing off into the sunset.

A storm brewing on the horizon as the pilot boat left the Veendam.

Celebrity Summit after leaving Crown Bay.

The Celebrity Summit sailing past the storm.

When the skies were totally dark and the Veendam was on her way, we went to the dining room. There was no wait and even though we were seated at a different table, we were still in the same section with our regular waiter, Oka!

With a sea day coming up and the chance to sleep late, I didn't mind that we went to the late show in the theater. If we hadn't already had enough comedy shows, it was another comedian. Chris Pendleton was the headliner and someone we had seen on a previous cruise. We had enjoyed her before (yes...Chris is a "she") but for some reason she just didn't seem as funny the second time around. And although the comedy was lacking, we did enjoy the musical portion of her show. Chris is an accomplished violinist and includes her daughter, Zoe, in the show. For such a young age, Zoe is also very talented on the violin.

With the later evening, our routine card game was not going to happen. We went to the lido just long enough to get something to drink and then back to the cabin.

I was startled when I opened the door, flipped on the light and saw what looked like a man dressed in black being hung! Bob had worn a full wetsuit when diving and trying to get it dried out was proving to be difficult in an inside cabin. (A balcony would have been nice for this!) He had it on a hanger which was hooked around a super strong magnetic that he had stuck to the ceiling. At first glance it really did look like a person!

San Juan

Saturday, November 16, 2019

Today we had the best of both worlds...a leisurely sea day in the morning and a port day in the afternoon and evening. The Veendam wasn't scheduled to arrive in San Juan until 1:00 pm so we had made arrangements to meet Jon and Michelle at the dining room for breakfast. I always plan on eating breakfast in the dining room on sea days but then never do. This time we did! It was a nice and peaceful way to begin the day!

Last night, Jon had insisted that Michelle remove the braids in his hair. He may have supported the local economy by getting the braids, but he paid for the experience with not only money, but pain. And last night he discovered that getting rid of the braids was even more painful than having them put in. When Michelle was done, it left a strip of hair down the middle of his head which was sticking straight up (and he didn't bother to fix). Our dinner waiter, Oka, walked by while we were eating breakfast and did a double take when he saw Jon. With a little snicker, he said "something happened?" and just continued on his way.

The guys had made arrangements to play pickleball at 9:30 and Michelle and I went out on the walking deck to sit in the lounge chairs visiting as I updated my blog notes. A while later, she left to go get something to drink and missed seeing a pod of dolphins jumping alongside the ship.

When Michelle didn't return, I checked and she had left a message on the Navigator app saying she was at the pickleball court. I went up there and she and Jon were playing a game against Charley (that we had met at breakfast yesterday) and another guy who was new to the sport. Right away I noticed that Charley had a bloody forehead with a giant bump. Bob (in paramedic mode) came walking up to the court holding a plastic bag full of ice. Turns out Charley had whacked himself in the head with his own paddle!

Michelle & Jon (with his NEW athletic shoes!) playing pickleball

I sat and watched until they finished the game and then Michelle and I went to the Crow's Nest. Bob and Jon showered and met us there in time to hear Cisco (the EXC guide) give a commentary as we sailed in to the port of San Juan. The Crow's Nest was a great place to view the fort and Old San Juan...but not the greatest place to get photos through the windows.

Waiting for the commentary to begin as we sail into San Juan.

Castillo San Felipe del Morro

Colorful buildings of old San Juan

Sailing past the fort.

The four of us went to lunch at the buffet and then got off the ship around 1:30. Bob and I had been to San Juan a couple of times and from our last visit in 2015 I knew it was an uphill walk to get to our destination of the fort, El Morro. Lyft was not available in San Juan, but I was able to call an Uber which took us directly to the entrance of the fort. The ride was quite a bargain at $4.14 for all four of us and was a great way to avoid the long uphill trek.

We drove by the capital building on our Uber drive to the fort.

Bob was able to use his "America the Beautiful" pass to cover the entrance fees for all of us at El Morro so it was turning out to be a very inexpensive port day. The temps were in the upper 80's and I was getting hot by the time we walked up the long walkway to the door of the fort.

There are two forts in Old San Juan...San Cristobal and the one we were visiting, El Morro. The two are similar, but El Morro has the spectacular views when looking down on the waves crashing below.

This photo was taken through the window of the women's restroom!

The guys did a more thorough job of exploring the fort while Michelle and I took the relaxed approach!

Trying to get the perfect shot!

This lighthouse was added to the fort in the early 1900's.
We sought refuge from a rain storm the last time we visited, but it was not open this time.

An iguana with a great view.

From the fort we walked about 10 minutes to the Catedral de San Juan Bautista (Cathedral of St. John the Baptist). The cathedral, built in the mid-1500's, is the 2nd oldest in the Americas and contains the remains of explorer, Ponce de Leon. By the time we got there, the heat was really bothering me and the warm, un-airconditioned church just made me more miserable. 

This totem pole was erected in 1992 to celebrate the 500th anniversary of Columbus' discovery of the New World.

Catedral de San Juan Bautista

Tomb of Ponce de Leon

Before the cruise, I had watched multiple San Juan travel videos online and had a list of several places I thought would be fun to visit as we walked back towards the ship. After we walked down the hill from the church and through the city gate I used Google Maps to find a good route to get to the next places I wanted to stop...Pigeon Park and Senor Paletas (an ice cream shop.) It appeared they were close to each other and not too far from where we were on the Paseo de la Princesa.

Spanish settlers introduced cats into San Juan to help control the rat population and many stray cats still roam the streets today. Neighbors in this area provide food and water and a group called Save a Gato provides neutering and vaccinations.

Walking through the Old San Juan city gate.

 In colonial times, sailors would enter through this gate and walk up the hill to the cathedral to give thanks to God for their safe passage.

Jon, Michelle and I posed for a photo just outside the massive doors to the gate.

The Paseo de la Princesa walkway leads from the city gate, around the city walls to the Raices Fountain.

When we got to the Raices Fountain, the Google directions were showing we were very close to our destination. A large poinsettia festival was being held by the fountain which had attracted large crowds. A band was playing loudly and there were many booths selling crafts and potted poinsettias.

Raices Fountain. The water in the fountain turned off just as we arrived!

One of the many stands at the festival selling poinsettias. 

The three wise men strolled by. On such a hot day, it was hard for me to remember that
 Christmas was really not that far away!

We got to a spot that Google said was only 50 feet away from the Pigeon Park, but there was no sign of it. I stopped and asked a local man if he could help. He grabbed another guy who spoke some English and he started explaining we had to go up a long staircase and then walk a little more. Then it made sense! The park was literally above where we were standing...at the top of the old city wall!

I was not interested in climbing stairs in the hot sun so we found a girl sitting at a tourist information booth and asked about directions to the other spot...Senor Paletas. From her broken English we concluded that the shop was also located up the long staircase. But then she remembered that Senor Paletas had a booth at the festival! She personally walked with us to the booth. The stand was selling popscicles made from fruit and they were a perfect treat in the hot sun (although you had to eat fast!)

I think Jon would have liked to find a restaurant in town, but all I wanted to do was escape the heat and return to the coolness of the ship. We started back towards the dock, stopping briefly to look at the many craft booths. Michelle collects nativity sets and was able to find a unique handmade one. Our last stop was at the CVS store across from the cruise terminal for Jon to pick up some soda.

As we walked on to the ship, a crew member said there was a "special" Caribbean dinner at the Lido buffet. We had missed our regular dining time so went there instead. The food was OK...the best part being the fresh, sweet mango.

The pork tasted better than it looked. 😮

We were all wiped out from walking in the heat so decided to forego our nightly card game. Attending the Scattergories game in the Mix Bar at 8:30 pm was considered but we gave it a pass as well. The Main Stage entertainment was the BBC Earth presentation that we had viewed the previous week. 

Bob and I went up to the front of the ship above the bridge to look out over the city of San Juan. It was beautiful at night, but after a few photos, we were back in our cabin for the night. 

San Juan is a very interesting and colorful city, but is so much more enjoyable on a cooler day. It occurred to me that we had water activities planned for every port EXCEPT San Juan which in retrospect was a wise decision! 

Tomorrow will be another one of the "water days". Our beach bag is packed and Jon and Bob will have another go at diving after having their first attempt was cancelled in Grand Turk. Jon had gone through the extensive (and expensive) scuba certification specifically to be able to dive on this cruise.